WANG HEADS WEST Hampton Roads Academy, has decided to spend a postgraduate year at Westwind Prep Academy in Phoenix, Az. The idea is to help Wang, 18, add some weight and muscle and expose him to more of the American style of basketball in an effort to attract college recruiters.

But it's a label Wang politely chafes at, and over the past three seasons he's become sui generis: a designer with the creative chops to increasingly earn a place in high fashion's conversation, but whose clothes are accessible to more than just the one percent.